Ayano Kurimaki
was the daughter of a politician. She was going to school in America, when she learned about Seinosuke Amakusa's involvement with Tsukushi Makino. Ayano quickly returned to Japan to face off against Tsukushi in the Teen of Japan contest. Biography Early life Ayano was from a wealthy political family. Her father was projected to be the next UN ambassador. She and Seinosuke Amakusa were informally engaged by their parents due to the favorable political connections.Chapter 65, Boys Over Flowers When they were little, Seinosuke himself had promised to marry Ayano and told her about his dream of becoming a sushi chef. She happily agreed to work beside him in the future.Chapter 71, Boys Over Flowers High school At some point, Ayano began studying in the United States, possibly at a branch of Eirin Academy. She also lived there with her parents. Teen of Japan before the final round]] After reading articles about Seinosuke and Tsukushi Makino, Ayano rushed to Japan without telling her parents in order to compete in the Teen of Japan contest. She first met Tsukushi a week after arriving in Tokyo, running into her and Seinosuke in the park. She introduced herself and wished Tsukushi good luck.Chapter 66, Boys Over Flowers The contest commenced on Christmas Eve. In the first round, Ayano selected a Chanel ensemble and "made her unique additions to it." A judge complimented her, saying she was "dressed very gracefully." Ayano passed on to the following round.Chapter 68, Boys Over Flowers Backstage, she took up for Tsukushi against Sonoko Maekawa. Angry at Ayano, she made a pointed comment about her and Seinosuke's engagement. Once Sonoko left, Ayano revealed to Tsukushi her reasons for coming to Japan. She told her "I want to fight this out with you to the end."Chapter 69, Boys Over Flowers At the end of the second round, Ayano and Tsukushi were selected by one of the judges as finalists.Chapter 70, Boys Over Flowers During a break, Seinosuke approached the two girls backstage. When he questioned Ayano about her reasons for coming to Japan, she reminded him of his promise to marry her. He was left partially speechless.Chapter 71, Boys Over Flowers In the third round, Ayano had a headstart with the children, whom were judges for the category, though they soon began defecting to Tsukushi's side. When Tsukushi invited her to join them, Ayano was touched and realized "Now I can see why Seinosuke fell in love with you."Chapter 72, Boys Over Flowers The children were given instructions to choose which girl they liked best. One refused to do so, feeling that it was unfair since he liked them both. Some of the other children joined his protest. The judges decided to pick the winner based on overall points, leading Ayano to be crowned.Chapter 73, Boys Over Flowers Physical appearance Ayano was known for her beauty. Sojiro Nishikado, in particular, found her very attractive and compared her to several flowers. Tsukushi described her as "beautiful," putting her on par with Tsubaki Domyoji and Shizuka Todo. Ayano had short, light brown hair styled in a bob cut and parted her hair in the middle. Her fashion style consisted of classic ensembles, such as a Chanel suit. Personality and traits She often hid her true feelings behind her calm and cool demeanor. Ayano only showed emotion while speaking about Seinosuke to Tsukushi. Like Tsubaki and Shizuka, Ayano was a nice and kind person which was the opposite of most of the wealthy girls Tsukushi had met. She did not see Tsukushi as someone beneath her, instead viewing her as serious rival for Seinosuke's affections. Ayano had long harbored deep feelings for Seinosuke, whom she was willing to throw away her comfortable life for. She was also noted for her intelligence and good manners. Behind the scenes *Ayano debuts in chapter sixty-five during the T.O.J. Arc. as Ayano]] *Ayana Sakai portrays Ayano in two episodes of Hana Yori Dango (2005).http://www.tbs.co.jp/hanayoridango/story8_2.html (Japanese)http://www.tbs.co.jp/hanayoridango/story9_1.html (Japanese) In this version, Ayano is Tsukasa's fiancée and goes to school in London. She enters the Teen of Japan contest with Kaede's recommendation. Ayano passes through each round, eventually winning over the contest's underdog Tsukushi in the final. She grows to respect to Tsukushi and ends her engagement with Tsukasa by telling Kaede that Tsukushi may be the one meant for him. *She is played by Liu Ye as Zhou Cai Na in the Chinese drama, Meteor Garden (2018). She is informally engaged to Tian Ye (Seinosuke), whom she has feelings for. To earn his respect, Cai Na enters the Chinese Cuisine Culinary Competition and competes against Shan Cai (Tsukushi). She later becomes a love interest for Feng Mei Zuo and Ye Ming Chuan. *Koko Miyahime portrays Ayano in the Takarazuka 2019 musical, Hana Yori Dango.https://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/revue/2019/hanayoridango/cast.html (Japanese) Appearances *''Hana Yori Dango FF'' *''Hana Yori Dango'' (2019 musical) }} References Category:A to Z Category:Females Category:Characters Category:Manga Category:Manga characters Category:Eirin Academy students Category:Teen of Japan participants